~ an enthusiastic meddler exploring photography

Reflections

Hmm.. whatever happened to posting on this blog? Not that anyone is reading it…

Still, New Year and all that – time to make an effort. So a few reflections on 2007. A year of upheaval really, but in a mostly positive way. This year I’ve made a real effort to develop my photography, going back to shooting film as well as digital. Obviously this is slightly more expensive as it reintroduces consumables into the process, but film is really quite cheap and chemicals are even cheaper especially when reused (fix anyway). But still the value of film is fourfold really:
1) You have a physical thing at the end of the process.
2) it looks different to digital – I’m not going to say better, just different.
3) for B&W at least it has more exposure latitude
4) because it is consumable you treat it with more respect, and think more about the shot you want to take – is it worth a frame of film?

I also moved up to medium format – 6×6 – with a Soviet built Zenith 80. I am now hooked on that format – all the above points are more valid for medium format than for 35mm because the negative is a bigger physical object, and there are far fewer shots per roll. I got some Fuji Velvia and looking at the first frames back from the lab on my crude DIY lightbox was actually breathtaking.